Dear SSW Community and Colleagues,
Welcome to the 2nd week of spring term! I hope those of you who attend or teach classes on our Portland campus could get to the waterfront to view the beautiful cherry blossoms while they were at their peak late last month. The 100 Akebono cherry trees were a gift from Japan for the dedication of the Japanese American Historical Plaza in 1990. The plaza itself was created to help raise public awareness of the diversity of cultural experiences in America, something I especially appreciate in these times.
Even in this season of rebirth and renewal, many of us are also sitting with a sense of uncertainty about what lay ahead for this university, our school, and the many people who comprise those groups that we care deeply about. President Cudd’s recent Town Hall raised a number of understandable questions and concerns. The financial challenges are real, but so is the extraordinary collective capacity of our faculty and staff to meet these challenges in a thoughtful, equitable, and sustainable way. We will soon begin a dialogue process in anticipation of actual numbers starting to emerge, and kicked off with our All School meeting last week and continuing as more information becomes available for us to deliberate on.
It is important not to miss the many positive and inspiring things that are happening at the School, both among students and faculty. This month, for Social Work Month, we were treated to a front-row view of a number of those activities and programs, including Community Hour presentations by doctoral student Grace Pappas, an MSW class project brought forward by Lisa Hawash’s Advanced Macro Social Movement students, and a deep dive into the impressive array of programs and research projects housed at the Regional Research Institute (RRI), led by Jennifer Blakeslee. We were also honored to host a PSU SSW homecoming of sorts by two esteemed PhD alumnae, Dr. Sarah Schwartz who presented the documentary film she produced and directed “Gert’s Boys”, and a well-attended public lecture by Dr. Heidi Allen "Psychedelics as medicine - preparing social work to meet the moment and lead a movement". We were able to gather afterwards with various SSW alumni, faculty and community friends, including a visit by Representative Tawna Sanchez (MSW 2012), who we’re certain was instrumental in preserving the state funding level for Portland State this fiscal year, including the funding for the critical Child Welfare Partnership. The month’s featured activities culminated in a valuable training in partnership with the School’s EPIC committee and the UPRISE Collective, “Movement Building, Mutual Aid, & Macro Practice”. I want to thank everyone who made this month so special, and I look forward to following the work that was presented by our many talented faculty, students and alumni.
Collage featuring various photos from the PSU SSW's Social Work Month events
The richness of our School is sustained by long-standing friends. I recently spent time with Barre and Robert Stoll, whose names many of you see daily in our north hallway. Their admiration for your work and their commitment to student scholarships remain as steadfast today as when they helped fund our space at the ASRC. It is a privilege to share your stories of impact with important supporters like the Stolls and with the larger community—not just during Social Work Month, but every single day.
Sincerely,
Dean Evaon Wong